And Now a Few More Lists: 2011 Exit Interviews with Local Bands
by Lauren BeckPage 9 of 10
What are your five favorite albums released this year?
Bill Callahan - Apocalypse
Oneohtrix Point Never - Replica
The Men - Leave Home
Grouper - A I A
Matana Roberts - COIN COIN / St Vincent - Strange Mercy
How about the best show you saw and/or played in?
Best show we did was Michael Azerrad's Our Concert Could Be Your Life, if only to see things like Annie Clark doing Big Black, etc. It was really fun to covere Husker Du too. Another of my favorite shows was $keletons at the memorial show for our friend Ariel, in February. Totally beautiful tear jerker.
Any local band you think deserved more attention this year?
$keletons
The most tragic loss of 2011 was... R.E.M, LCD Soundsystem, The White Stripes or the mystique of Jeff Mangum?
Really loved seeing Jeff Mangum live and never loved the other two, so I'll go R.E.M., even though they haven't been R.E.M. in the classic sense in sometime (for me). Their first few records and Automatic for the People are some of my favorites of all time, so I'll go with them.
Who would you say is a band to look out for next year?
The Genesis cover band that I think I'm going to be involved in. Zambri maybe.
Band you'd most like to see reunite in 2012?
R.E.M. Just kidding. No idea. I like when bands break up and you have to wish they were still around. Reunions can be a bad form of wish fulfillment.
What's on the agenda for Grooms next year?
We're recording our third album now, so that'll probably see release in some form or another. No real idea what it's gonna be like yet, even though we're, like, one-third of the way through. Poppy, riff heavy, spacey so far.
Any New Year's resolutions?
Maybe to listen to more new music? Be better about saving money? Never ever smoke again?
